News, Do you like needles? Painless Drug Injections. (phobia, pain, Novacaine)

[JD59]

I never did like shots or needles.

News, Researchers at Hewlett Packard Labs (HP Labs) have engineered a drug patch that painlessly delivers medications through the skin via tiny micro-needles. The technology is modeled after HP's inkjet-printer technology.

A single patch outfitted with hundreds of micro-needles could potentially deliver multiple drugs at preprogrammed intervals, without the pain and hassle of conventional needles. The company has announced a licensing deal with Crospon, a medical-device developer based in Galway, Ireland, that will manufacture and market the "smart" patch.

"There are a few patches out there for drugs like nicotine and fentanyl, very small and potent molecules that go across the skin on their own," says Samir Mitragotri, a researcher at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB), who specializes in new drug-delivery devices. "They don't need any help. For these molecules, you can buy a patch and it can last up to a week. The problem comes when you try to deliver drugs that are large in size, or water-soluble. And those are the kinds of molecules for which we need to break the skin barrier."

A single micro-needle measures a couple hundred micrometers, a length that could penetrate the outer layer of skin, delivering a drug directly to the underlying capillary bed without triggering nerve endings located deeper in the skin.

ABC News: Say Goodbye to Shots That Hurt

[foma]

So we're printers now?

I have never been a big fan of needles - I always get whoozy when I see it but after helping my Dad battle cancer and all those blooddraws, I got used to it. I also used to work as a pharmacy tech and helped the pharmacist mix IV drugs ... poked myself a few times - now THAT'S painful.

I may be used to it now but I still don't like it! It's an involuntary reflex to flinch!

[miguel's mom]

That's very interesting though I'm not that afraid of needles. I always think if I look when I get a shot it hurts more because you're expecting some kind of pain and the muscles are clenching that's why I don't look so I doesn't hurt.

However the new method would be more to my taste!

[foma]

I NEVER LOOK!!!!!!!!!

I gave blood once (my nephew needed it when he was born a pre-mee) and nearly lost it when my arm touched the blood pouch - it was warm! If it was humanly possible, I would've jumped out of my skin!

[PinkString]

I'm a big chicken when it comes to needles. lol
But at the dentist, if they stick me with the novacaine needle, i have to see it coming first, then i close my eyes. If i don't see it first, i usually almost jump out of my chair when it gets me.
Even though it doesn't hurt, i can still feel it going into my gums. I just hate that feeling.

[yhwhshalomjr]

So do you think they are thinking about getting rid of lines? such hep-locks etc, for IV's, because I thought that most often when a person is sick enough to require meds given by injection, they will already have an IV line started anyways. I don't mean to have a negative outlook on this, this will probably work effectively for those who are on pain meds for Chronic conditions and insulin etc. I can see that. Are they coming up with a painless idea for obtaining blood specimens also??

[yhwhshalomjr]

Originally Posted by PinkString

I'm a big chicken when it comes to needles. lol
But at the dentist, if they stick me with the novacaine needle, i have to see it coming first, then i close my eyes. If i don't see it first, i usually almost jump out of my chair when it gets me.
Even though it doesn't hurt, i can still feel it going into my gums. I just hate that feeling.

I know it, I have avoided a lot of dental work just because I have overcome the big needle", they need to come up with something for when you're having dental procedures.

[foma]

Originally Posted by yhwhshalomjr

they need to come up with something for when you're having dental procedures.

No friggin' kidding!!

I don't avoid dental procedures per say if I really need it but boy do I dread it! It's ok to cry when you're little but I feel like an idiot when I cry now! I can't help it!

[PinkString]

And that needle always looks like it's 3 feet long coming at you!

[movingtohouston]

hate hate hate hate needles. I was a needle breaker when I was little. The nurse hated it when I came to the office for my shots. When I had my first son I got an epidural, my husband and this big burly nurse had to hold me down so I wouldn't jump. Ick. I think it is a genetic phobia, my oldest son hates needles too. He is nearly as bad as me.